A BAN preventing Sudanese women from working in public places like petrol stations, hotels and restaurants – so they don’t come into direct contact with men – has evoked strong criticism from human rights and workers groups in Sudan. According to Khartoum Governor Mazjoub al-Khalifa, the decree is intended to uphold the status of women and is in line with Islamic law. He said women were allowed to be employed in areas other than those mentioned in the decree. Police have begun enforcing the ban and have been barring women from such places. For many Sudanese women, who are struggling in an economy ravaged by civil war, it has come as a shock and many fear they will not be able to find new employment. The decree applies only to women in the capital, Khartoum, and not elsewhere in Sudan.